HUME, DAVID

born May 7 [April 26, Old Style], 1711, Edinburgh, Scot. died Aug. 25, 1776, Edinburgh Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. Hume conceived of philosophy as the inductive, experimental science of human nature. Taking the scientific method of the English physicist Sir Isaac Newton as his model and building on the epistemology of the English philosopher John Locke, Hume tried to describe how the mind works in acquiring what is called knowledge. He concluded that no theory of reality is possible; there can be no knowledge of anything beyond experience. Despite the enduring impact of his theory of knowledge, Hume seems to have considered himself chiefly as a moralist. born May 7 [April 26, Old Style], 1711, Edinburgh, Scot. died Aug. 25, 1776, Edinburgh Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical skepticism and empiricism, restricting human knowledge to the experience of ideas and impressions and denying the possibility of ultimately verifying their truth. Hume's early years were spent in Edinburgh and Bristol. In 1734 he went to France, where he wrote A Treatise of Human Nature (173940), an attempt to formulate a full-fledged philosophical system, that he later repudiated as juvenile. Returning to England, he wrote Essays, Moral and Political (174142) and tried unsuccessfully (1744) to obtain the chair of moral philosophy at Edinburgh. He then began a period of wandering, during which he wrote extensively, including An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748, revised 1758) and An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). Hume conceived of philosophy as the inductive, experimental science of human nature. Taking the scientific method of Sir Isaac Newton as his model and building on the epistemology of John Locke, Hume tried in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding to describe how the mind works in acquiring what is called knowledge. He concluded that no theory of reality is possible and that there can be no knowledge of anything beyond experience. His theory of knowledge had an enduring impact. Hume remained in Edinburgh from 1751 to 1763, except for two periods in London, during which he wrote The History of England (175462). In 1763 he became secretary to the British embassy in Paris. He returned to London in 1766, bringing with him Jean-Jacques Rousseau, but Rousseau, delusional, suspected a plot and fled back to France. Hume reported on the matter in A Concise and Genuine Account of the Dispute Between Mr. Hume and Mr. Rousseau. Hume tired of public life in London and returned to Edinburgh in 1769, where he revised his collected writings and wrote his autobiography, The Life of David Hume, Written by Himself, which was published posthumously. Additional reading Biographies The standard biography is Ernest C. Mossner, The Life of David Hume, 2nd rev. ed. (1980); while John Hill Burton, Life and Correspondence of David Hume, 2 vol. (1846, reprinted 1983), is not entirely superseded by more recent scholarship. Shorter biographical studies include J.Y.T. Greig, David Hume (1931, reprinted 1983); and F.H. Heinemann, David Hume, the Man and His Science of Man (1940). J.Y.T. Greig (ed.), The Letters of David Hume, 2 vol. (1932, reprinted 1983), is supplemented by Raymond Klibansky and Ernest C. Mossner (eds.), New Letters of David Hume (1954, reprinted 1983). Commentaries An up-to-date introduction to Hume's philosophical ideas is provided by A.J. Ayer, Hume (1980). Other useful introductory works are D.G.C. MacNabb, David Hume: His Theory of Knowledge and Morality, 2nd ed. (1966); Barry Stroud, Hume (1977); and V.C. Chappell (ed.), The Philosophy of David Hume (1963), which contains excerpts from Hume's works. More specialized commentaries on Hume's epistemological theory include H.H. Price, Hume's Theory of the External World (1940, reprinted 1981); Constance Maund, Hume's Theory of Knowledge (1937, reprinted 1973); and Norman Kemp Smith, The Philosophy of David Hume (1941, reprinted 1983). Commentaries that concentrate on Hume's ethical thought are R. David Broiles, The Moral Philosophy of David Hume, 2nd ed. (1969); J.L. Mackie, Hume's Moral Theory (1980); Antony Flew, Hume's Philosophy of Belief (1961); Rachel M. Kydd, Reason and Conduct in Hume's Treatise (1946, reissued 1964); and Jonathan Harrison, Hume's Moral Epistemology (1976), and Hume's Theory of Justice (1981, reprinted 1983). Alasdair MacIntyre (ed.), Hume's Ethical Writings (1965, reprinted 1979), contains excerpts that are well chosen from various works.Hume's political theory is examined in Duncan Forbes, Hume's Philosophical Politics (1975, reprinted 1985); David Miller, Philosophy and Ideology in Hume's Political Thought (1981, reprinted 1984); G.K. Vlachos, Essai sur la politique de Hume (1955); and Shirley Robin Letwin, The Pursuit of Certainty: David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Beatrice Webb (1965). Excerpts from Hume's writings on politics, together with a commentary, appear in Frederick Watkins (ed.), Theory of Politics (1951).richard Wollheim (ed.), Hume on Religion (1963, reissued 1964), contains Hume's most important writings on the subject. More extensive commentaries are provided by J.C.A. Gaskin, Hume's Philosophy of Religion (1978); and Andr-Louis Leroy, La Critique et la religion chez David Hume (1930).eugene Rotwein (ed.), Writings on Economics (1955, reissued 1972), a collection of Hume's essays, is a valuable introduction to a somewhat neglected aspect of Hume's social theory. Commentaries that attempt a more synoptic and comprehensive appraisal of Hume's thought include John Passmore, Hume's Intentions, 3rd ed. (1980); Charles W. Hendel, Studies in the Philosophy of David Hume (1925, reissued 1983); Andr-Louis Leroy, David Hume (1953, reprinted 1979); John Laird, Hume's Philosophy of Human Nature (1932, reprinted 1983); A.P. Cavendish (pseudonym A.H. Basson), David Hume (1958, reprinted 1981); Farhang Zabeeh, Hume, Precursor of Modern Empiricism, 2nd rev. ed. (1973); and James Noxon, Hume's Philosophical Development (1973, reprinted 1975). Bibliographies T.E. Jessop, A Bibliography of David Hume and of Scottish Philosophy from Frances Hutchinson to Lord Balfour (1938, reprinted 1983); and Roland Hall, Fifty Years of Hume Scholarship (1978), and A Hume Bibliography, from 1930 (1971). William B. Todd (ed.), Hume and the Enlightenment (1974), contains a bibliographical essay. Hume Studies (semiannual) updates bibliographical information. Thomas Edmund Jessop Maurice Cranston Major Works: Philosophy and religion A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects (173940); An Abstract of a Book Lately Published: Entitled, A Treatise of Human Nature, etc., Wherein the Chief Argument of That Book Is Farther Illustrated and Explained (1740); Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding (1748; many later editions entitled An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding); Four Dissertations (1757); Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779); A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend Containing Some Observations on Religion and Morality (1745). Politics and morals Essays, Moral and Political (174142); An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751); Political Discourses (1752). History The History of Great Britain (175457); The History of England Under the House of Tudor (1759); The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Accession of Henry VII (1762). Other works A Concise and Genuine Account of the Dispute Between Mr. Hume and Mr. Rousseau (1766); The Life of David Hume, Esquire, Written by Himself (1777).Recommended modern editions of separate works by Hume include: A Treatise of Human Nature ed. by L.A. Selby-Bigge, 2nd ed. rev. by P.H. Nidditch (1980); Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, ed. by L.A. Selby-Bigge, 3rd ed. rev. by P.H. Nidditch (1975); Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, ed. by Norman Kemp Smith (1935, reissued 1981); The Natural History of Religion, ed. by A. Wayne Colver (1976); and The History of Great Britain: The Reigns of James I and Charles I, ed. by Duncan Forbes (1970). The best collected edition is The Philosophical Works of David Hume, ed. by T.H. Green and T.H. Grose, new ed., 4 vol. (188286, reprinted 1964).